Scenes from a Sunday Joy Ride in Rockbridge County

Can anyone tell me how to enable "click on the pictures" to enlarge?

This week in our "Beyond Beyond (BB2) eCourse one of are assignments was to create a custom package in the "Print Mode" of Lightroom. It was such fun and a real learning experience. These photos were taken with my iPhone while I was on my Sunday Joy Ride. After breakfast with Buddy he went to work, and I decided to take the long way home which ended up taking way over an hour because I got lost. I could not believe my eyes. There was still snow on the ground and slushy, icy snow on sections of the road. The real treat was there were few cars on the road, and I was able to stop and takes lots of pictures of different barns in all colors and conditions.

This post is linked with Mosaic Monday and Barn Charm.

Memories of Valentine's Day 2013

Traditional Nursery Rhyme

"Ladybug, ladybug" is chanted by children when a ladybug insect lands on their person. If he ladybug does not fly away of its own accord the child would gently blow it away chanting - "Ladybug, ladybug fly away home". This insect is found every summer in the gardens of Britain - the most common colour is red with black spots, less common are the yellow variety, In Britain ladybugs are referred to as "ladybirds".

Farmer's knew of the Ladybird's value in reducing the level of pests in their crops and it was traditional for them to cry out the rhyme before they burnt their fields following harvests (thus reduced the level of insects and pests). 

The English word ladybird is a derivative of the Catholic term "Our Lady". The tradition of calling this rhyme was believed to have been used as a seemingly innocent warning cry to Catholic (recusants) who refused to attend Protestant services as required by the Act of Conformity (1559 & 1662). The law forbade priests to say Mass and forbade communicants to attend it. Consequently Mass was held secretly in the open fields. Laymen were subject to jail and heavy fines and priests to execution. Many priests were executed by the terrible death of being burnt alive at the stake or, even worse, being hung, drawn and quartered. The most famous English recusants were Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot Conspirators. 

It is possible that the word Ladybird was exchanged for Ladybug, in the American version of the nursery rhyme, due to the word association with Firebug meaning an arsonist or pyromaniac. There has been some speculation that this Nursery Rhyme originates from the time of the Great Fire of London in 1666. 

Thank you, Rita, for my precious ladybug dip bowl and little knife.

Surprise! Surprise!

 You never know what you might step upon when hiking through the forrest.

This post is linked with NF Blo-Ma.

The Beginning

This is where my love for sewing and handwork began. My mother made all of my clothes, and she was determined I would learn to sew and knit as a young child. She gave me this Singer for my 7th birthday , and it was on this little crank machine that it all began. 

It still works but has some rust. Still, it is one of my "treasures'" 

and would have many stories to tell if it could just talk.

This post is linked with:

Mosaic Monday and Marco Monday.

So Sad

This sweet white-winged Junko flew into our front porch glass storm door the other day and died immediately. My friend who is a birder came over a short while later and helped me to identfy it. He pulled out the feathers so I could see the white. After I took the pictures, we gave him a proper burial.

This post is linked with:

The Bird D'Pot
Camera Critters

Wild Bird Wednesday

NF Winged

Icey Waters

This post is linked with NF Waters.

Chairs, Chairs, and More Chairs

 Plow and Hearth Main Store near Charlottesville, VA

Plow and Hearth Outlet adjacent to the main store. 

This post is link with Shadow Shot Sunday 2.

Ball of Fire

This post is linked with Weekend Reflections hosted by James.